Climbing

Finding the ideal Christmas gift can be stressful at this time of year, so we thought we would make it easier for you.

Here's a few ideas so you can give your climbing buddy a gift they deserve.

The Moon 159 inspirational Heritage Tee, made from soft and stretchy fabric, or maybe the Samurai Shorts, lightweight and quickdrying. Either one would perfectly pair up with the Moon Beanie, a cosy hat to keep your head snug in the cold season.

Ben Moon and Jerry Moffat, legends of the climbing community, tell us how the MoonBoard is a universal phenomenon that pulls people together from all around the world. It enables people to train together and connect globally by trying out or creating their own problems on the MoonBoard App.

All in all, the MoonBoard is an exceptional way to train or climb and have great fun.

I stumbled into the Shrimpshrine, a co-op home gym in Salt Lake City. It was winter 2014. The shrine was kitted out with weights, a few hangboards, strange sideways campus boards, a stereo, and a mattress. Nik Berry, a member of the Shrine Crew, and I passed all the other equipment on our way to the garage’s Moonboard. While it snowed outside, we thrashed our fingers on the first Moonboard in the US.

The Moonboard originated in the School Room in Sheffield, a training facility for rained-out U.K. climbers. This old school building cranked out some of the strongest Brits like Ben Moon, who established Hubble at Raven Tor, the world’s first 8c+/5.14c, the exceptionally strong Stuart Cameron, Jerry Moffat who made the first ascent of Dominator (V12) in Yosemite’s Camp 4, and Malcolm Smith,

Why train shoulder stability. Why do these tedious, boring exercises? Well, for one it reduces your risk of shoulder injury, and two, it can enhance your climbing performance and ability. There's two good reasons for a start!

Most climbers focus on getting stronger, doing pull ups, muscle ups, lock off training and weighted dead hangs. These training methods will get your mobilising muscles stronger, however, what about the stabilising muscles? Stabilising muscles work at a lower intensity for long periods of time. They help with posture and also help the mobilising muscles to function better, therefore making you stronger. The rotator cuff muscles work to stabilise the shoulder. One study found that a decrease in rotator cuff muscle force, resulted in a greater humeral head displacement, making you more susceptible to shoulder injuries. In climbing this is very common and this means a lack of shoulder flexibility, which again isn't great for climbers.

If you’re a serious boulderer or sport climber, chances are you’ve heard about the MoonBoard. Over the past year, it has shown up in our social media feeds with alarming frequency, and has even sparked live-feed climbing competitions on its relatively miniscule 12 x 8 foot climbing surface. But, while it is currently trending like crazy on the Internet, the MoonBoard’s history actually predates Twitter.

During the infancy of rock climbing training in the 80’s and 90’s, dingy garages and cellars spawned makeshift climbing walls that were dubbed “woodies.” These simple plywood panels were erected at steep angles, with scrap wood screwed on for bouldering holds. The problems were necessarily short due to the low ceiling heights, and by default, power was the main factor being trained. This was a precursor to today’s artificial climbing walls; modern rock jocks eschewing